Living Off-Grid and Debt-Free: A Dog Musher’s Story
Last Updated: Feb 23, 2025The indicators of global climate change are becoming more alarming. Greenland recently lost about 4 trillion pounds of ice in just one day due to warming temperatures in the Arctic. One of the most recent reports on global climate change states bluntly that warming temperatures and more severe storms pose an “existential risk to humanity.” More and more, an ecological transition toward a more sustainable society depends on individual action.
Separating and recycling household waste, switching to LED lights, and avoiding single-use plastic bags are the first steps to help homeowners begin to understand the intricacies of a more sustainable home and lifestyle. To effectively respond to global ecological crises in the ever shorter time frames afforded to us, some homeowners are making radical changes in their lifestyles.
Finding models for a profound paradigmatic shift that prioritizes sustainability can be challenging, but we found an inspiring role model: Justin Allen. Among his many accomplishments, Justin Allen, owner of Boss Dog Expeditions and 20 frisky huskies, completed a 3,000-kilometre trek by dog sled from northern Manitoba to New Brunswick, then decided to build a 600-square-foot off-grid home in the woods of New Brunswick. While he branded Boss Dog Expeditions as an eco-tour agency, during the past year, Allen has discovered that his off-grid lifestyle is an attraction in and of itself.
Table of Contents
- Living Small, Smart, and Off-Grid
- Self-Sufficiency, Economic Independence
- Suggestions for Going Off-Grid
Living Small, Smart, and Off-Grid
Since returning from his cross-Canada trek by dog sled, Allen has been building a home completely independent of municipal or government sources of energy, water, trash collection, or any other “services” on which most homeowners rely. “For me, off-grid living makes me more conscious of how and what I consume,” he says. “It’s important for people to be more aware of how their actions directly affect the world we live in.”
Allen chose his parcel in the woods because it’s near a natural spring, which gives him access to clean drinking water and a power source. One of the first things he did was dig out a small dam along the spring and gravity feed the water to a small cistern attached to his home. A small pump powered by his solar photovoltaic (PV) system delivers water throughout the house. A tankless propane water heater provides hot water.
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
